


Going Up

by dotpng



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:20:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,026
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24631453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dotpng/pseuds/dotpng
Summary: Later, when Tseng lectured him, Reno would defend himself. He was new to Shinra, after all, and he'd only ever seen the President's son at a distance, or on TV. That day, Rufus wasn't even wearing his signature jacket. Anyone, he insisted, could've made the same mistake.But deep down, Reno knew, there was the simple fact of the matter: he just wasn't exactly thinking with his brain.
Relationships: Reno/Rufus Shinra
Comments: 3
Kudos: 66





	Going Up

Striding across the polished floors of Shinra HQ at two minutes to six, Reno still wasn't in _too_ much of a hurry. If he didn’t catch this elevator, though, it would probably be fucking forever until another made it back down to the lobby. “Hey, hold the door,” he called, and shoved himself through the closing gap as the elevator slid shut. 

Reno slumped against the far wall and glanced at his watch. Okay, so he was gonna be three, four minutes late to his first official event as a Turk, but that was probably fine, right? Tseng would be pissed, obviously, since he'd been in charge of showing him the ropes, but was his presence really required at a corporate party?

Well, a paycheck was a paycheck. No sense getting worked up about it. He sighed, and finally looked over at the elevator’s other occupant.

The guy was a little taller than him, blond hair falling into his eyes, with an expensive suit and a nice ass.

Later, when Tseng lectured him, Reno would defend himself. He was new to Shinra, after all, and he'd only ever seen the President's son at a distance, or on TV. That day, Rufus wasn't even wearing his signature jacket. Anyone, he insisted, could've made the same mistake. 

But deep down, Reno knew, there was the simple fact of the matter: he just wasn't exactly thinking with his brain.

Maybe someone else would’ve been intimidated. But hell, it wouldn’t be the first time Reno hit on a spoiled kid from the upper plate, and not without some success. Sneaking down to slum bars was a popular pastime for the young and well-heeled of Midgar, after all, and for all the haughty looks, they were at worst whiny, and at best just looking for a little rebellion.

"Hey, blondie," said Reno, and for a second the guy didn't say anything.

Then his eyes slid over. “What?”

“What brings you here?”

“...The Shinra anniversary event.”

“Damn, what a coincidence,” said Reno, even though they were both going to the same floor, and leaned in a little. “Me too. Maybe I can keep you company.”

Finally, the guy turned to face him fully and squinted at him. "You really don't know me, do you?"

Was he a model or something? With the face he had that would certainly fit, and maybe also the way he seemed like kind of an asshole. Reno quickly wracked his brain, trying to think of where he might've seen him before, but nope. Total blank.

He settled on a cocky grin. "Nah, but I'd like to."

For a second the man stared at him, unreadable, then the corner of his mouth twitched up. “You work for Shinra? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.”

Reno puffed up with pride. “Well, I’m the newest member of the Turks, actually.”

“Is that so?” the other man said, sounding far less impressed than he would have liked. “You don’t look like a Turk.”

“What?” He bristled. “No, see, I’ve got the uniform.”

The man looked him up and down. "Yes. You are in fact wearing a normal suit.”

“Ok, well that’s-” 

Before he could continue, the guy cut him off with a hand gesture. “Calm down. I believe you. You just...” another glance, a smile, “aren’t what I would expect.”

“Yeah, well, it’s pretty dangerous, actually,” Reno continued, feeling, ridiculously, like he had to prove himself to this perfect stranger. “Check it out.” He pulled back his lapel, exposing a pretty nasty gash on his chest. “Got this on a mission last week in Wutai.”

The guy stepped closer, staring so openly Reno felt himself turning a little red, even though, well, that was kind of the point. 

Then he hummed, brought his hand up to the lapel and pushed it back further, tracing the edge of the wound with delicate fingers as Reno tried not to breathe. 

“You should ask medical to get you the malboro venom salve. It’s still in development, so they don’t usually hand it out, but it’ll prevent scarring.” The man rolled up the sleeve of his shirt, presenting a set of recent and much more impressive gouges down his forearm. “It’s what I use.” The injury had been cleaned and stitched, but the skin around it was already showing the beginnings of deep purple bruising.

Reno gaped at it. “Shit, how did that happen?”

“Dog.” The man shrugged. “I’m still training him.”

“A fucking dog did that?”

“ _Big_ dog,” he amended.

“Isn’t it kind of…” Reno hesitated. “Isn’t it dangerous to keep a dog that bites like that?”

“With some patience,” he answered, leveling a cool look at Reno, “any dog can be made to heel.”

He didn’t have an answer for that. Somehow, Reno was realizing, he had badly miscalculated, had assumed the man was a garden variety rich kid like the ones he'd met before, more bark than bite and quickly daunted by the prospect of real violence. But he'd been wrong, and now he was stumbling. 

At that moment the doors slid open, directly onto the spacious area reserved for the event, and the quiet hum of the elevator was replaced by the sound of music and conversation.

The man stepped back. “I'm going now.”

“Wait, hold on,” he said, still stumbling, feeling a little pathetic. “I- I’m Reno.”

“Reno. Hmm. I’ll remember that,” he said, thoughtful. Then he turned and walked into the crowd.

What the fuck was that supposed to mean. Reno tried to follow, but the mass of people didn’t part nearly as easily as it had for the other man.

As he walked around, trying to catch sight of him, Tseng yanked him over to the side. “Where. Were you.”

“Talking to a guy,” said Reno, ignoring the renewed glare. 

“You-”

“Wait, why…” And then he locked eyes with that man again, standing in front of the room at President Shinra's side. The man- _Rufus Shinra_ \- smirked, not at his father and not at the executive he was shaking hands with but at _him_ , and things started to slide into place. Oh. 

He was so fucked.


End file.
